Santa the Turkish Necromancer

The latest episode of Ask a Mortician sets out to ruin Santa with a macabre look at the history of our modern Christmas icon.

Everyone’s favorite mortician Caitlin Doughty (Smoke Gets in Your Eyes) teams up with Elizabeth Harper from All the Saints You Should Know to ruin our modern idea of Santa Claus just in time for Christmas. Saint Nicholas, a Turkish bishop born around 270 AD, was known for giving money to poor families so their daughters didn’t have to be prostitutes. At one point, according to legend, he also raised three butchered boys from the dead.

And now the bones of St. Nick, the historical inspiration for our beloved jolly fat man, can be visited in various locations all over the world. So yeah, he’s dead, and probably not coming down your chimney any time soon. Happy holidays!